What he told them after the money arrived
The whole town had come out for the morning prayer to see him.
فَأَبْشِرُوا وَأَمِّلُوا مَا يَسُرُّكُمْ، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا الْفَقْرَ أَخْشَى عَلَيْكُمْ
Fa-abshirū wa ammilū mā yasurrukum, fa-wa-Llāhi mā-l-faqra akhshā ʿalaykum
“So take good news, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, it is not poverty I fear for you.”
Where this comes from
Abu ʿUbaydah had come back from Bahrain with the money and word had got round. They crowded the mosque. He smiled when he saw them and said this, then finished the sentence: but I fear the world being spread out for you as it was for those before you, and your competing over it as they competed, and it destroying you as it destroyed them.
The full narration
Narrated `Amr bin `Auf:(An ally of the tribe of Bani 'Amir bin Lu'ai and one of those who had witnessed the battle of Badr with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)) Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent Abu 'Ubaida bin AlJarrah to Bahrain to collect the Jizya tax. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had concluded a peace treaty with the people of Bahrain and appointed Al 'Ala bin Al-Hadrami as their chief; Abu Ubaida arrived from Bahrain with the money. The Ansar heard of Abu 'Ubaida's arrival which coincided with the Fajr (morning) prayer led by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). When the Prophet (ﷺ) finished the prayer, they came to him. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) smiled when he saw them and said, "I think you have heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaida and that he has brought something." They replied, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! " He said, "Have the good news, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, I am not afraid that you will become poor, but I am afraid that worldly wealth will be given to you in abundance as it was given to those (nations) before you, and you will start competing each other for it as the previous nations competed for it, and then it will divert you (from good) as it diverted them
Source
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · 6425
- Agreed upon as authentic (al-Bukhārī / Muslim)